1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for producing fat based confection compositions, e.g., chocolates, by contacting a surface comprising a low surface-energy material.
2. Related Background Art
A wide variety of materials have been used to mold confections. The confection industry generally used metals, polycarbonates and silicone rubber. Chocolate manufactures, however, have generally employed metal, and more recently polycarbonate molds.
Chocolates and chocolate-like compositions having a desired three-dimensional shape or having an image or design imprinted on a surface (herein referred to as "molded chocolates") are conventionally produced by molding. Molding is the casting of liquid chocolate into molds (plastic or metal) followed by cooling and demolding. The finished chocolate may be a solid block, a hollow shell, or a shell filled with a confectionery material such as fondant, fudge or soft caramel (Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology by Bernard W. Minifie, Third Edition, page 183), the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Molded chocolate products are conventionally produced by depositing tempered chocolate having a liquid fat phase into molds, allowing the chocolate to cool and harden into solid pieces before demolding the chocolate (Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology by Bernard W. Minifie, Third Edition, pages 198-206). The most commonly used method of producing a shaped chocolate involves the following sequential steps:
A. heating the chocolate to soften, i.e., melting of the fat phase; PA1 B. tempering the chocolate; PA1 C. depositing the tempered chocolate into a mold; PA1 D. shaking the mold to remove air bubbles and fully distribute the chocolate in the mold cavity; PA1 E. cooling to harden the chocolate; and PA1 F. removing said set shaped chocolate from said mold ("de-molding").
One disadvantage of the conventional molding process is the excessive time required to fill the mold, shake the mold to remove air pockets and solidify the chocolate to form a shaped piece. In particular, the cooling time required for molding chocolate products often exceeds 20 minutes for a small (about 1 g) piece, and 40 minutes for a large (about 100 g) piece. For complex shell molded products, which require numerous production steps, the total production time can be on the order of 1-2 hours. Demolding of molded chocolate products is typically accomplished by using a combination of flexing the molds and/or a strong impact force to free the products from the molds. The length of the molding cycle greatly reduces the efficiencies of such commercial production lines and requires the use of a large number of molds.
Another disadvantage of conventional molding processes is that they rely on the contraction of chocolate products away from the mold during solidification of the chocolate to effect release from the mold cavity. Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology by Bernard W. Minifie, Third Edition, page 207. Problems are frequently encountered in molding chocolate products which do not contract greatly upon solidification, e.g., aerated chocolates, twin shells and lowfat chocolates. Shell molded chocolates are also typically more fragile than other chocolate products, and thus are prone to cracking upon attempts forcibly demold them using a very strong impact. For this reason, shell products are often molded at greater than the desired thickness to minimize damage. This limits flexibility in product design, e.g., may increase the cost of the product needlessly, or result in a higher caloric product than desired. Flexible molds have been used in the art of making hand candies. U.S. Ser. No. 356,450 discloses a process comprising casting a fluid from a hopper into mold cavities in the surface of a continuous flexible belt which surrounds, and is propelled by rollers. The fluid is allowed to solidify as the belt travels beyond the hopper until the belt passes over a roller, flexing the belt and thereby demolding the casting. U.S. Ser. No. 371,176 discloses a flexible mold for candy manufacture. The side walls of the mold are cut or split in order to facilitate flexing of the mold and removal of the castings. U.S. Ser. No. 534,632 discloses an improvement to the flexible candy mold of U.S. Ser. No. 371,176 in which there are air spaces between the mold cavities to facilitate cooling. No suggestion is made that these processes are suitable for producing molded chocolates or that contacting surfaces of low surface energy would be advantageous.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,696 discloses a process for patterning a layer of colored cocoa butter on the surface of a molded chocolate. The cocoa butter is cast into shallow indentations in a base sheet which is preferably flexible, then a chocolate composition is cast into mold matrices which are aligned with the indentations in the base sheet. No suggestion is made that production of a molded chocolate using a mold with a contacting surface having a low surface energy would be advantageous.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,658 discloses a flexible silicone rubber mold which is flexed to allow removal of molded chocolate products. French Patent No. 1,590,193 and Japanese Laid-Open Application No. 38-12718 each disclose a flexible mold, which may be made of a silicone, and which may be used for molding of chocolate products. No suggestion is made in any of these references that the surface energy of the mold contacting surface is an important parameter related to easy demolding of molded chocolate products.
PCT Patent Publication WO 94/07375 to Cebula et al. relates to forming fat-containing products such as chocolate in molds at temperatures at or below 0.degree. C. to provide unforced demolding.
The above-identified methods of producing molded chocolate products using conventional molds and conventional molding methods are characterized by long cycle times, which decrease efficiency by requiring use of large numbers of molds and long cooling tunnels. It would therefore be highly desirable to provide a method of making molded products in a more efficient manner.
A method for molding chocolate that facilitates demolding of the molded chocolate product would be highly desirable.